BIOGRAPHY

Singer David Salsbery Fry continues to captivate audiences with each role. Acclaimed for his expressive, powerful bass voice, wide range and nuanced versatility, along with an authentic and engaging stage presence, Fry enjoys a diverse career as singer, actor, narrator, and recording artist. Having performed throughout the United States, in Europe, Canada, Thailand, and Israel, Fry continues to expand his relationship with orchestras and opera companies through a broad range of repertoire, from Verdi, Mozart, Rossini, and Britten, to Argento, Chen, Foss, Fussell, Honegger, Sondheim, and more.

As comfortable with new music as he is with established operas and arias, David Salsbery Fry has premiered works by numerous composers, including Robert Aldridge, Shawn Brogan Allison, Lembit Beecher, Justine F. Chen, Frank Corcoran, Chaya Czernowin, John David Earnest, Ruby Fulton, Juliana Hall, Jenny Olivia Johnson, Louis Karchin, Lowell Liebermann, Adam Maor, Eric Nathan, Osnat Netzer, Steve Potter, Arnold Rosner, Joseph Summer, Kristian Twombly, Nicholas Vines and Scott Wheeler. He has also collaborated with Mark Adamo, James Granville Eakin III, Oliver Knussen, Ari Benjamin Meyers, Nico Muhly, John Musto, Judith Shatin, and Charles Wuorinen.

With a voice that has been praised as “Incredible! …Truly remarkable and astounding…”, “darkly sonorous,” and possessing “almost impossibly deep tones”, Fry has created a name for himself in the recording arena as well.  He can be heard on 10 CDs, appearing on recordings for Albany, Navona, BMOP/sound, Naxos, New World and Odyssey Opera.  His most recent recording is Boston Opera Project’s 2025 release of Lukas Foss’s The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, BMOP/sound 1102.

The unique characteristics of Fry’s cross genre voice has attracted engagements in other fields.  In 2023, he voiced the character of Charles Xavier (Professor X) in the new interactive series “X-Men: Age of Orchis” for Marvel Move, a new mobile interactive fitness adventure offering from Marvel Entertainment and Six to Start, the company behind “Zombies, Run!”.

A passionate advocate for performers with disabilities, Fry has written articles for and been featured in such media outlets as How I Round, Classical Singer, The Liberated Voice, and Opera and Disability. A supporter of inclusion and diversity in all art forms, particularly the classical music industry, he believes in the importance of accessibility in the arts for artists with disabilities, whether the disability be congenital or acquired.

Born in Pennsylvania, David Salsbery Fry earned his B.A. from The Johns Hopkins University, a M.M. in Opera Performance from the University of Maryland at College Park, and a Graduate Diploma in Voice from The Juilliard School. Fellowships included the Tanglewood Music Center Vocal Fellowship and The Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program. Among his numerous awards are Semifinalist, Concours Musical International de Montréal, Finalist, Middle Atlantic Region, The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and the Grand Prize of the Bidu Savão International Vocal Competition.